Ever After High: The Return of Jared
by DamianKastle
Summary: Three months have passed since the defeat of Headmaster Grimm and since then the destinies of everyone in the Fairy Tale world became entirely up to them and while everything is perfect, Raven still misses Jared and wishes to see him again. Her wish is soon granted when an older Jared appears in Ever After and with him... a familiar darkness Raven knows all too well. Hiatus.
1. Recap

**Ever After High: The Return of Jared**

**Recap:** Previously on Ever After High, in the land of Oldtown, Maine, a 13-year old kid named Jared Prince was just beginning to attend a prestigious academy called Oldtown Academy and was living an ordinary life. Or at least until he did until he found an old spell book up in the forbidden part of the school, then out of sheer curiosity he read a spell and _poof_! The students from Ever After High, specifically most of the Royals and Rebels, appeared before him. After calming every else in the school down about them Jared got to know them a little and quickly took the Rebels side in the Destiny conflict. Then more Royals and Rebels starting appearing through random portals, as well as the strict Headmaster; Milton Grimm, who had come to bring everyone back to Ever After. But Jared saw how cruel and stubborn he was about trying to force them into following their destinies and refuse, causing him to reveal his powers, fight them and put Raven under a spell to make her trap them in a mirror prison. But, by working together, Jared plus the Royals and Rebels managed to break out and confront Grimm. Then, by reaching out to Raven, who he had forged a special brother-sister like bond with, Jared convinced her to break the spell and revert to normal. Furious, Grimm attacked Jared and the others, along with Duchess Swan, but Jared brought forth all of the other Ever After students and with the help of the students of Oldtown Academy they defeated Grimm and the concept of destiny was destroyed. After the battle, Raven and Jared sadly said their goodbyes before Jared sent them back to their world. And so both their worlds lived in peace, until now this is…

* * *

**Author's Note:**** Yes, I know is short, but this is just a recap page for those who have not seen the last story have forgotten some parts. The next few chapters will be longer, or at least I'll try to.**


	2. Jared Returns

**Chapter 2**

It was a beautiful and peaceful morning in the Fairy Tale world and a few happy and chirping birds were flying towards and soon around a large castle like structure known to one and all as Ever After High, high school for Fairy Tale kids. Previously it was designed to teach them how to follow their parents stories and fulfil their destinies but after the concept of destiny was destroyed, it became just like a typical high school on Earth.

"Ah, Ever After High… such a peaceful school once again." The female narrator said.

"Yes, hard to believe that only three months have passed since Headmaster Grimm vanished and left control of his school to his brother." The male narrator added.

As they said this, most of the students of Ever After were currently walking around the Village of Book End, either hanging out with their friends or doing some shopping, including Ashlynn, Hunter, Cerise, Daring and all the others. Some of the students even worked at the various stores across the village.

"That's right, and the students are better off for it, shame that the concept of Destiny had to be destroyed." The female narrator mused.

"A shame? It was a _curse_ on the land, and Ever After owes a great debt of gratitude to the boy responsible for that." The male narrator stated.

"Oh right, Jared Prince, who is forever remembered in the minds of the Royals and Rebels."

"Especially Raven's mind."

Speaking of Raven, the daughter of the Evil Queen was currently on the roof of the school and leaning against the railing with a sad look on her face as she gazed out to the horizon.

"Ah, yes, Raven, whose heart still misses the one from the other world; Jared Prince, who was like the little brother she never had." Mrs. Narrator sighed.

"Yes, it is quite a shame they had to separate." Mr. Narrator agreed.

As they were saying all that, a certain brown haired, glasses wearing Prince approached her from behind, holding a flower behind his back.

"But, at least she's not _completely_ alone." The female narrator noted, as Dexter tapped her on the shoulder and showed the flower to her, brightening her up.

"Oh, right! Dexter is now her boyfriend! How could I forget?" The male narrator said, happily while Raven sniffed the flower.

"Yes, now that she no longer had to worry about being the Evil Queen and Dexter finally gained enough courage to tell her, the two are in a wonderfully happy relationship." Mrs. Narrator added, just as happily as the two of them hugged.

"Do you think they'll kiss now?" Mr. Narrator asked.

"Now, now, let's not jump to conclusions, let's just see and…" The male narrator's wife began before Maddie suddenly and somehow popped up from behind the ledge, waving.

"Um, excuse-a-hoo! Narrators! They're trying to have a special moment here!" she told them. Raven and Dexter turned to her, surprised.

"Maddie? How did you get up here?" Raven asked, baffled.

"And… who the heck are you talking to, anyway?" Dexter added, confused.

"Oh, like I told Raven, Dexter; you can't hear them, only I can." Maddie said, with a nod. Dexter looked at Raven again, still confused, but she responded with a smile and a shrug. The two resumed hugging while Maddie slowly sunk down out of sight.

"And so, to put the state of Ever After High shortly… everything is perfect." Mrs. Narrator concluded.

"Yeah… I wonder how long _that's_ gonna last?" Mr. Narrator pointed out.

"We'll soon find out…" His wife mused.

* * *

Later, after spending some much needed quality time together up on the room, Raven and Dexter, now holding hands, soon met up with some of their classmates, specifically Hunter, Maddie, Apple, Ashlynn, Blondie and Cerise, who had just returned from the Village of Books End, near the entrance of the school.

"Hey guys!" Raven smiled.

"Hi Dexven!" Maddie beamed.

Everyone exchanged confused looks before looking at Maddie, baffled.

"Uh… whose Dexven?" Dexter inquired.

"You guys!" Maddie said.

"Us?" Raven questioned, surprised.

Maddie nodded. "Uh-huh, see I fused Dexter with Raven and got… Dexven!" Maddie explained, with a smile. "See?"

"Oh!" Everyone said, understandingly.

"Ah, and portmanteau couple name, clever." Dexter admitted.

"Why thank you." Maddie nodded.

"Oh… Dexven, I am so digging the Dexven!" Ashlynn gushed.

"Guys…" Raven said, embarrassed, while blushing.

"Well, I for one am so happy for you Raven." Apple smiled.

"Thanks, Apple." Raven said, gratefully. "So… how are you doing now that the whole 'following your destiny' thing is null and void?"

"Oh, I'm doing ok, you know… considering." Apple said, a bit depressed but she quickly perked right up. "But nevertheless even though my destiny is mine to choose, and I do appreciate just to let you know, I'm still gonna be a good Queen for the land only… I'll try not to be such a perfectionist and learn how to improvise a little more."

"Wow, that's impressive." Dexter remarked.

"And I imagine _your _brother is adjusting as well?" Cerise inquired.

"Yeah, I mean he is dating Lizzie Hearts so…" Dexter began.

Apple nodded. "Yeah, and I'm happy for him too."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find your special guy in no time." Raven assured her.

"Thanks." Apple smiled.

Unknown to them, Humphrey Dumpty was watching her from a far and sighed with a lovesick smile before quickly dashing off as soon as they looked his way, when they saw no one, they shrugged.

"Anyway… Briar's having _another_ big party, to celebrate us getting freed from our destinies." Hunter told them.

"Why? It's only been… three months." Dexter pointed out.

"_Exactly_ three months, it's so major!" Apple said.

"I guess it is pretty cool." Raven admitted.

"I know right?" Ashlynn agreed.

"And what would make it just right is if that cute little boy from the other world could join us." Blondie added.

"You mean… _Jared_?" Dexter asked.

"Right! That's what I meant!" Blondie nodded.

"I wish Jared was around too…" Raven said, depressed.

Dexter put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, we know Raven."

"If it wasn't for him… we'd all be stuck following our parents destinies…." Ashlynn sighed.

"Some of wish being less desirable then others…" Hunter added.

"Yeah, that Jared Prince was a ringer-dinger of a guy…" Maddie said, sounding less cheerful then she usually was.

"Well, as long as our stories are ours to write… he'll never be forgotten…" Dexter concluded.

"If only there was a way to see him again… or better yet… bring him _here_." Raven said.

"_Here_?" Apple echoed, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, he got us to _his_ world… maybe there's a way to bring him to _ours_!" The dark haired girl realized.

"Raven…" Her boyfriend began.

"Aw, come on! You _know_ I have the magical power to do it, _plus_ I have more control." Raven pointed out.

"Yep! All thanks to Jared!" Maddie chimed, happily.

"That's right, he taught you to control your anger _and_ your powers." Cerise remembered.

"Not to mention snap you out of that spell Grimm had you under…" Apple added.

Raven nodded as she remembered Jared training her and what he said when he was under the former Headmaster's control.

* * *

"_Hey look, your powers may seem dark and uncontrollable but don't forget they are a part of you who are, just like one of your limbs." _

"_Yeah? So?" _

_ "So because they are a part of you, you can control it as easily as you can control a limb, but so far, like I said before, all you've been doing is letting your powers control you instead of the other way around."_

* * *

_ "THAT DOES IT! Who gave you the right to tell her what she can or can't be?! Come on, Raven! Show this guy he's wrong!" Jared exclaimed to Raven. "Remember your promise and also remember… everything that happens now… is in your hands. And also… remember that you are who you choose to be. So… go ahead… choose. I have faith… in you Raven."_

* * *

The flashback soon ended in Raven's mind.

"Yeah… Jared changed my life alright, in more ways than one." Raven sighed, still looking sad. "He really was like a little brother to me."

"We know Raven." Cerise nodded.

"But… I don't think we can bring him here…" Hunter concluded.

"Yeah, I mean… do you even _know_ a spell that could do that?" Dexter questioned.

"Well… no, but I'd find one! …In time…" Raven said, slowly.

"Ooh! Maybe Headmaster Grimm can help! The new one, I mean." Maddie corrected.

"I don't know… he hasn't been the same since his brother… you know…" Blondie pointed out, slowly. "I mean, he may _say_ he's just right… but he's not."

"Yeah, his smile is happy… yet at the same time… _disturbing_." Hunter shivered.

Raven nodded. "Yeah, I know but…" she began to say before Apple stopped.

"Raven, I hate to be the one tell you this… but I'm not sure that bringing Jared here is a good idea… or if it'll even work," she told her, sadly making Raven lower her head.

"She's right, he could end up stuck here forever, makes the length of time _we_ were stuck in _his_ world seem like _nothing_." Dexter expressed.

"Plus, like she said; the spell might not even work…" Cerise added. "You of all people know how unpredictable magic is."

"I know, I know…" Raven sighed. "Just… wishful thinking, that's all."

Looking sorry for her, Apple put on a small smile. "Hey, I know what'll cheer you up."

"Yeah, what?" The evil queen's daughter inquired.

Ashlynn gestured to the many balloons and loud noises coming from a far. "The Storybook Fair of course! It just opened up!"

"And it's the biggest hoopla since the Wonderland Crazy Day show!" Maddie chimed.

"Isn't that… _everyday_?" Dexter questioned.

"Yeppers!" Maddie nodded, cheerfully.

"And it's a day where we get to spend some quality time with our parents." Blondie said.

"We know _your_ Mom isn't exactly 'mother of the year'…" Cerise began.

"But we can still have fun together, if that's ok…" Hunter finished.

"Come on Raven, what do you say?" Maddie asked, eagerly as everyone leaned in for an answer.

Seeing how much they wanted to make her happy and looking grateful for it, Raven smiled. "Alright then."

"Wha-hoo!" Maddie cheered. She then began to make her way to the fair. "Come on, let's go party Wonderland style!"

"Great, now you've got me worried, is anyone else worried?" Dexter asked the others, nervously. They just laughed a bit while they made their way towards the fair.

* * *

When they finally arrived at the spot where the Storybook Fair was currently being held most of them quickly met up with their parents and quickly began to have some fun. The fair featured many things like a Ferris wheel, spinning chairs, multiple game booths, great food served by Ginger Breadhouse and even a bounce house that Maddie and her father were having a blast on.

"Ah, the Story Book Fair, a time of fun, peace…" The male narrator began.

"And a chance to spend some quality time with the ones whose stories made the Fairytale World the way it is." The female narrator finished.

As she said this, several of the Ever After students were walking through the Fair side by side with their parents, including Cerise, her mother Red Riding Hood and her Dad Mr. Big Bad Wolf even Kitty and her mother.

"Of course, not _all_ of the former Royals and Rebels have what you call 'model parents' thus they cannot see them at all." Mr. Narrator pointed out.

As he said this Raven stepped into the area and gazes at Cerise, Maddie and Blondie each spending time with their respective parents with a sad look.

"Oh, that's right. Raven's mother, the Evil Queen, is still trapped in the mirror prison for her crimes against Wonderland." The female narrator realized.

"And good thing too." Mr. Narrator remarked.

"Now hold on, she may have been evil but Raven still loves her mother and the sad thing is, no matter what she's done, she always will." Mrs. Narrator mused.

"Forever after?"

"Forever after."

Raven then heard Cerise laughing and saw her father Mr. Bad Wolf holding up two little kids, who were sitting on his large arms while a third held onto his head. Red Riding Hood and Cerise laughed at this in amusement, as did the Big Bad Wolf. While she was disappointed that neither of her own parents could attend Raven was still happy for the rest of them, then before long she began to walk away from it. Ashlynn saw this and rushed over to her, looking worried.

"Hey Raven, where are you going?" she asked.

Raven stopped and turned to her, trying to fake a smile. "Oh, it's nothing, I just… don't think I should be here right now… I feel like a third wheel…" she admitted.

"Because your parents aren't here?" Ashlynn guessed. Raven nodded. "Listen I know your Mom is imprisoned and all but… can't you ask your Dad? The Good King?"

"He's too busy…" Raven sighed.

Ashlynn looked at her closely. "Hmm, and your also wishing Jared was here, aren't you?"

"Is that obvious?" Raven questioned.

"To me." Ashlynn said.

"I can't help it Ashlynn… I knew I'd miss him but not _this_ much…" Raven confessed.

Ashlynn put a hand on her shoulder. "I understand, but listen Raven, you have get used to life without Jared," she told her, she gestured to the gate. "He's not gonna come walking through those doors any time soon."

Right after she said this a loud 'BOOM' was heard and all turned to the gate where what seemed to be an interdimensional portal opening up. They all stared in shock as the light from the portal shined out, then they noticed someone jumping out and landing outside of it. Most of the others seemed to figure out who it was just by seeing his brown hair.

"Jared?" Dexter questioned, surprised.

Raven smiled. "He's back!"

When the light finally faded they could see Jared more clearly, but they were stunned when they saw that Jared was now much taller than he used to be, around the height of Raven and the girls and had slightly longer but still neatly combed brown hair. He now wore a black t-shirt with a blue stripe in the middle with a white box in the middle, blue stripes on the sides of his shirt which was over a pale blue long sleeved shirt with blue cuffs, blue pants and blue and white sneakers.

"Jared?" Raven asked, slowly.

The apparently sixteen-year old Jared smirked. "Hey you guys, miss me?"

* * *

**Yuri Lowenthal as 16-year old Jared Prince**


	3. Tour

**Chapter 3**

The Fairy Tale teens, including their parents, continued to stare in shock at the young teen standing before them who claimed to be their old friend Jared Prince, who last they saw was just in his early teens but now he was older looking and older sounding. Raven's eyes were wide and she stared silently at him with her jaw dropped before finally speaking.

"Is that…?" she began to ask the others.

"Jared?" Ashlynn finished.

"It's me guys, really." Jared waved.

"Oh… Wowza!" Maddie remarked.

"I'll say…" Cedar, who had just walked over, nodded.

Jared noticed their staring and began to feel uncomfortable. "So… you gonna stare me all day or what?"

The girls immediately rushed towards Jared, pulling him into a strong lovingly group hug "JARED!" They screamed in delight. Jared cried out in pain as they squeezed him with their tight hug.

"You're back!" Maddie cheered, as she shook him like a rag doll. "I'm so HAPPY!"

"Oh, I missed you _So. Much_!" Raven cried.

"Girls… your… _crushing_ my ribs…" Jared squeaked in pain.

Daring then walked over and patted him on the back, ignoring his squeaking. "Good to see you lad!"

Dexter joined in. "Yeah, good to see you again."

"So, how've ya been?" Cerise questioned. "It's like been a long time since we've seen you!"

"Are you ok?" Apple asked, concerned.

"Ugh… I can't _breathe!"_ Jared cried, gasping for air.

After about five minutes of hugging, nopony wanted to let go of their long lost friend but eventually they did when his face started to turn blue. He gasped for air deeply.

Raven was the first to notice something about him. "But… you've _changed!"_ she stated.

"Yeah… you're like… _taller _now!" Maddie commented in shock.

Jared laughed in amusement. "What? You'd all thought I'd still be a runt when I'm sixteen-years-old? It has been three years ya know," he reminded them.

"Huh?" They all said, surprised and confused.

"What?" Jared asked, more confused. "What's wrong?"

"Uh… well the thing is Jared… to us it's only been three _months_." Raven revealed.

"Three months!?" Jared exclaimed. "But…"

Before he could finish, he noticed something about them that he should have noticed a while ago.

"Well… now that I'm really looking at you guys… you certainly haven't changed much in three years… so obviously time travels differently here than in my world, there's a temporal differential."

"I love tempura!" Maddie said, excited.

Her Dad, the Mad Hatter, then popped up. "Me too! So much!"

"Wow! The Mad Hatter! I mean _the _Mad Hatter! Your him!" Jared gasped, looking excited.

"Indeed I am!" Mad Hatter smiled as he tipped his hat to Jared which suddenly popped open and an extendo hand holding a flag came out. Jared took the flag bewildered and it slowly drew back.

"Ok…" Jared said, slowly.

"Don't worry, you get used to it." Raven assured him.

"I somehow doubt it…" Jared commented.

"Well, it's nice to see you haven't lost your sense of humor, Jared." Daring acknowledged.

"Thanks. So, how've you guys been?" Jared asked, curiously. "Are things all good here?"

"Yeah, things are great! Headmaster Grimm's brother Giles has become the new Headmaster and people are already adjusting to writing their own destiny." Raven said, proudly.

"That's good to hear." Jared nodded. "And you?"

"Well… I've missed you… a lot." Raven admitted.

"Yeah… same here." Jared confessed. "But now I'm back, so that's good right?"

Raven nodded. "Yeah… by the way, how _did_ you get here anyways?" she asked him.

"Well… let's see… it's really kinda complicated…" Jared admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"Well we got time." Hunter said.

Maddie then slid in. "Yeah, we can have it over a nice cup of tea too!" she said as she took out a tea up and used her hat to pour the tea into it.

"Uh… ok." Jared responded. "But maybe inside? …without a big crowd _staring_ at me?"

The others turned around and soon saw that they were indeed starting to draw in a crowd and quickly got what Jared was saying to them.

"Yeah, sure, come with us." Raven said as she took his arm and began to gently pull him away, with the Royals and the Rebels all following behind them.

* * *

Soon they were all seated inside the school library, which they did the first time they met and talked to Jared, only this time it was in their world. As Jared enjoyed his cup of tea they all looked Jared expectedly and looked happy to see him again, Cedar, Cupid and all the rest that weren't their when he showed up initially were also present and eagerly waited his story.

Maddie leaned in close. "So…?"

"So what?" Jared inquired.

"So are you gonna tell us how you got here or not?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're all pretty anxious to know, Jared." Raven added.

"Oh, yeah, right. Let's see… well as you can probably guess during the three years, or three _months_ in your case, since you left I missed you all and I wanted to see you again but I didn't know how." Jared said. "So I spent all my free time studying the Spell Book that I found in the forbidden floor and I learned a lot."

"Including a way to get here?" Raven guessed.

"It took a long while… but yeah." Jared confirmed. "I didn't know if what I was doing was wrong or not, and part of me didn't care… I just wanted to see you guys again… even if it was only for one day."

Raven nodded with a sympathetic look.

"Yeah… I wanted to do that too… but the others advised me not to." Raven admitted.

"We didn't think it would work…" Hunter shrugged, feeling guilty.

"And we're really sorry…" Ashlynn added.

"It's cool guys, you were right; there's no way you could have known." Jared assured them. "And to be honest I was afraid to come because I thought… well… I'd be interrupting something important. I mean you guys just got back three months ago… and I thought you needed a little more time."

"That's partially why _we_ didn't try to get to you in some way too…" Cupid added, shamefully.

Cedar nodded, sadly. "It's true… sorry…" she said.

"Ah, there's no one to blame, so don't worry about it." Jared assured them, relaxed.

"Well, you've certainly learned how to loosen up after all this time." Raven remarked.

"Yeah, thanks to you guys, plus Perdita helps me calm down when I'm stressed." Jared said.

"How are you two doing anyway?" Ashlynn inquired.

"Yeah, give us the deets!" Cupid added, eagerly. "Are you two doing ok?"

"Actually we're doing _great_, so don't worry." Jared assured them with a smile. "I even took her to the movies and to dinner right after you guys left."

"Aw!" The girls all said, touched.

"Movie and dinner, nice." Hunter said, impressed.

"Rather old fashioned but I guess anything will do these days." Daring admitted.

"Oh, how I've missed you Daring…" Jared said, dryly.

"Sarcasm?" Apple guessed.

"Yep." Jared confirmed.

"Yes! I think I'm getting better at this." Apple said.

"Glad to hear it, and I must say this school looks pretty cool." Jared remarked as he gazed around.

"Oh, you haven't even seen _half_ of it yet." Raven smiled.

"Yeah, I'll bet." Jared nodded, smirking.

"Maybe we should give him a tour?" Apple suggested.

"Well, it's only fair." Hunter added. "I mean he gave us a tour of our school."

"Exactly!" Cedar agreed.

"Yes, that would make it just right!" Blondie nodded.

"Then it's settled, we'll give Jared the grand tour!" Raven declared. They all cheered.

"Thanks guys." Jared smiled. "I really appreciate this."

"Then why are we just sitting here? Come on, let's go!" Maddie said as she got up and zipped off.

Jared just sighed at her exuberance. "Some things never change, right?" he remarked.

Raven nodded, smiling. "Right."

"Let's go." Jared declared as he got out of his seat and began to leave.

* * *

They soon began to walk all over the school, which, much to Jared' amazement, seemed to be just as big as his own school, possibly even bigger. Their first stop was the classrooms, which also looked a lot like the ones on Earth.

"Ok, here is one of the classrooms, where we learn." Maddie said, gesturing to the room.

"Cool, just like home." Jared smiled.

"Wanna see the dorms?" Maddie asked, eagerly.

"I…" Jared began. But before he could finish and before any of the others could say anything, Maddie quickly pulled him away toward an unknown destination, which was soon revealed to be the dorms, which the rest of them found out when they finally caught up to her and Jared.

"And here are the dorms!" Maddie said.

"So… guys in one part of it and girls in the other?" Jared guessed.

"Yep! And we each have a roommate, I'm with Kitty, Raven's with Apple, Dexter's with Hunter… and list goes on!" Maddie said.

"Must be uncomfortable sometimes sharing a room with someone." Jared voiced, as the others approached.

"Well… in a way, yes…" Raven admitted, slowly. Apple gave her a look. "What? I'm just saying, sometimes your not the easiest person to live with. Keyword; sometimes."

Apple folded her arms. "Well, your not exactly easy to live with either," she said, a bit annoyed.

"What!?" Raven said, insulted.

"Ladies." Jared voiced, sternly.

"Sorry…" They both apologized.

"Speaking of rooms!" Maddie began before she zipped off again, pulling Jared along with her, the others follow close behind until they were in Maddie and Kitty's room.

"Here's _my_ room!" Maddie said, happily before Kitty suddenly appeared next to Jared, flashing her Cheshire grin.

"And _my_ room…" she cooed, which made Jared yelp, started. She purred. "Nice to see you again, little Jared."

"Uh… likewise, Kitty…" Jared said, nervously.

Kitty purred again as she walked around him. "Ooh, you've sure matured nicely, huh?"

"I… guess so." Jared shrugged.

"Hmm, wanna have a little fun? Some _chaotic_ fun?" Kitty inquired, a bit suggestively before Raven pulled her away.

"Alright, that's enough." Raven told her. "He has a girlfriend Kitty, so just leave him alone, ok?"

"Ok, ok." Kitty relented as she stepped back and away from Jared, course she still gave him a wink before vanishing again.

"Well… she's…" Jared began.

"Mad? Yeah, we Wonderland folks get that a lot." Maddie admitted, casually.

"I was gonna say 'wild card' but that works too." Jared shrugged, as he began to look around. "Hey… this is pretty nice!"

Just then the clock struck 12 and a giant cuckoo bird popped out and started dancing in front of him, Jared yelped in shock. He quickly got over and the shock and continued to watch the bird dance a jig.

Maddie leaned in. "Like it? Got it from my Dad, you should stop by his tea shop sometime, ok?"

"Uh, sure…" Jared said, slowly before quickly changing the subject. "Hey Raven, think I can see your room next?"

"And _my_ room, don't forget." Apple reminded him.

"How could I not?" Jared remarked, sounding flat.

"Well, come on then!" Maddie said, before pulling him away again.

"And I thought _you_ were happy to see him." Dexter remarked.

"Yeah… you don't suppose Maddie…" Cerise began to say, slowly.

They all looked at each other for a bit before finally saying something. "Nah!" They said, before they all begin to follow them.

* * *

Pretty soon after that they arrived in Apple and Raven's room, Jared was easily able to tell whose side of the room was whose due to one side being cheery and colored red and the other being dark and colored purple, and those were just two things he noticed about both sides of the room.

"Oh, this is pretty nice…" Jared remarked, looking around.

"Thanks! I did it myself, even helped Raven rearrange some things." Apple said, proudly.

"Really?" Jared asked Raven, surprised.

Raven nodded slowly in confirmation. "Yeah. I was a little bit reluctant but she kept insisting and eventually did so… even when I _begged_ her not to."

Apple quickly got the hint. "Oh… sorry…" she apologized.

"It's ok." Raven assured her.

"Yeah, at least your able to tell whenever someone's upset by something or being sarcastic now." Jared added.

"Thanks!" Apple beamed.

Jared then noticed a picture near Raven's bed and walked over to it. He picked it up and saw that it was a image of a young Raven standing near a man that seemed to be a king. The odd thing about the picture was that the part of it that was supposed to show her father was completely torn.

The sixteen-year old Jared was intrigued and confused. He turned to Raven. "This guy your father?" he asked.

Raven saw the picture of the king and nodded as she approached. "Yeah. He's the Good King."

"Cool!" Jared remarked, impressed.

"And he lives up to his name too! If he didn't he really wouldn't be known as the Good King." Maddie explained. "More like… the Poor King, or the Mediocre King or the…"

"We… get the idea." Jared told her, slowly. He then looked at the torn half. "And your Mom? The Evil Queen? Why's her face torn out of it?"

"I think it's pretty obvious why." Raven said, very sourly.

"Oh yeah…" Jared remembered. "Sorry…"

"It's ok… she's… just a memory now…" Raven sighed as she took the picture and but it back on the bedside table. "But… while she may be a monster… she's still my mother… and despite everything she's done… I still love her…"

"I understand." Jared said.

"We _all_ do." Apple added as they all nodded.

"Thanks guys." Raven smiled, gratefully.

Jared glanced at the picture again. "So… she's still sealed right? You said she was stuck in a mirror, correct?"

Raven nodded. "Yeah, after she put a curse on Wonderland," she said, sadly. "But it was what she did to my pet that made me not wanna be like her."

"What'd she do?" Jared inquired.

"Long story short; she turned him into a rat…" Raven replied, flatly.

"Ouch…" Jared remarked.

"Yeah…" Raven sighed, turning away.

"But! You got a nifty dragon out of it." Maddie pointed out.

Raven smiled. "Yeah, your right. Speaking of which, where is Nevermore?" she wondered.

"Probably near the Dark Forest." Maddie shrugged.

"Yeah, she does like to fly around there." Raven agreed.

As they spoke, Jared, as well as the others, were completely unaware of a strange looking shadow appearing from behind their dimension hopping friend. A shadow with red, glowing eyes full of evil. It slithered over to Jared and quickly zipped into his air, causing him a little bit of pain which was indicated by him grunting in pain and holding his ear.

They all tuned to him.

"Jared, you ok?" Raven asked, concerned.

"Yeah… just… felt something… _weird_…" Jared commented, somewhat woozy.

"Oh, hon… do you want to sit down?" Apple asked him, concerned.

"Nah, I'm fine… it's just dizziness." Jared said.

"Cool." Raven nodded, pleased.

"Hey, wanna see Headmaster Grimm next?" Maddie asked, eagerly.

"Grimm?" Jared repeated, incredulously.

"His brother, don't worry, he's totally nice." Raven assured him.

"Cool. Then let's go!" Jared said as they all began to head out the door and to the Headmaster's office, little did they know that as Jared walked behind him, his shadow morphed into a more feminine shape, though he even didn't know it either, not even when passed by some flowers and they wilted in an instant.

* * *

**Author's Note: So, SO, sorry this took so long.**


	4. Strange Feeling

Chapter 4

Sometime later, after saying high to a few old students that remembered him and introducing him to some new students that had only heard about him, the Ever After gang brought Jared right to Headmaster Giles Grimm's office, and he was very happy to see him.

"Ah Jared, it's wonderful to see you again, my boy!" he expressed.

"Likewise." Jared smiled. "How's the new job treating you?"

"Oh splendidly! Although I must admit I can't _begin_ to imagine how my brother managed to do it all…" Headmaster Grimm admitted, tiredly.

"I think it was by mainly being a giant pain in the…" Jared began.

"Jared!" Apple scolded.

"What? I was gonna say 'neck'." Jared said, innocently.

"Oh. That's ok then." Apple shrugged.

"Thank you. Anyway… he was a giant pain in the neck." Jared finished.

"Oh, big time pain in the neck." Maddie nodded, smiling.

Jared then rubbed the back of his head, remembering Giles was still in the room. "Uh… no offence, sir."

"It's alright, I know my brother was obsessive and overly ambitious as well as the harm he has caused all of you." Giles began before sighing. "Still… I miss the days from when we were just children…"

As their Headmaster looked down with a sad and depressed look on his face, the teens all look at him sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, sir…" Jared breathed.

Giles then composed himself. "It's ok my boy, it is in the past and while we can't change it, we _can_ change our futures and our destinies, thanks to _you_."

"That's right!" Dexter confirmed.

"Yeah!" Cerise nodded, smiling while the others also noticed their approval as well, making Jared blush.

"Thanks, you guys," he expressed. "Really, I mean it. So… think we can begin that tour now?"

"Sure." Raven smiled, as she gripped his arm and began to gently pull him away. "Just follow me."

"Uh… I'll come with you!" Dexter piped up as he quickly ran after them.

Raven stopped and turned to Dexter, smirking a bit. "What's the matter, Dexter? Jealous?" she inquired, with a teasing tone of voice.

"Uh…" Dexter stammered, slightly. "Well I uh…"

Raven giggled. "Relax. I'm just teasing you."

"Yeah, and don't worry me and Raven are just friends, you and her deserve each other." Jared told him, smiling.

"Wow, thanks!" Dexter said, complimented.

"Now come on, tour can't begin if we don't get to touring, right?" Jared pointed out as he and Raven to walk ahead.

"Oh! Right! Wait for me!" Dexter called out, rushing ahead. The others smiled as they watched them go.

Then, as she was watching them leave, Maddie happened to notice Jared walk past a bookcase which suddenly became old and rickety and as soon as the door slammed it fell apart, startling them all.

"Oh dear!" Giles remarked. He rushed over to the shelf. "So sorry girls, this shelf was _new_ when I bought it…"

As the new Headmaster attempted to pick up all the broken pieces that were on the floor, Maddie began to think hard.

"Hmm, first the flower… then the bookcase…" she mused. "Yeah, that's right readers, I noticed it."

"Uh… Maddie? Who are you talking to?" Apple asked. She and the others were all looking at her confused.

"Oh… nobody important." Maddie shrugged with a smile and a cute giggle. Her friends simply shrugged and decided that it was a lost cause.

Some time later, Raven and Dexter were both showing Jared all over the school, Raven tried to make it quick for him so he wouldn't be too bored.

"That's Science and Sorcery, Potions class is over there…" Raven said, gesturing to some of the rooms they passed by. "And over there is where they teach Princessology."

"Princessology?" Jared echoed, confused.

"Yeah, one of Apple's favorite classes, I tried it out but I dropped out because I couldn't handle all the smiling." Raven shrugged.

"But it's nice to smile, I mean you have a great one." Jared pointed out.

"She does…" Dexter sighed, before he realized what he said and blushed. "I mean it-it's nice and… _shiny_ and… oh what am I _doing_?"

"Making yourself look silly?" Jared guessed, flatly.

"Yeah…" Dexter bemoaned before Raven put a hand on his shoulder.

"He's _not_. Thank you Dexter, that was sweet," she said with a smile.

"See? _There's_ that nice smile." Jared beamed.

"Oh, knock it off, you!" Raven giggled, playfully pushing him. Jared only lightly bumped into a locker close by but as soon as he bumped it with his elbow, another jolt of dark energy emitted and the whole thing just collapsed into pieces, startling them.

"Whoa… your pretty strong for a girl your size, aren't you?" Jared remarked to Raven, stunned.

"I'm _not_ actually… I barely even shoved you…" Raven muttered, baffled.

"Then how did it collapse? It didn't even look broken." Dexter pointed out.

"Ya got me." Jared shrugged. "Anyway… sorry about that."

"Ah, don't worry about it, maybe my magic can fix it." Raven suggested. "I do have full control over it now."

"That's good to hear." Jared said, pleased. "Care to demonstrate?"

"Sure!" Raven smiled.

"Ok, but first… we may need a safe distance…" Dexter advised as he got Jared and himself to back up.

"Uh… is that really necessary? I mean she can control it now, right?" Jared pointed out.

"Normally I would reject something like this, but after what happened with the gingerbread men… best to be safe then sorry." Raven shrugged.

"Gingerbread men?" Jared echoed.

"Don't ask." Dexter advised as he and Jared got behind some trash bins. "Ready!"

"Ok, here goes…" Raven said as she extended her hands towards the locker door, concentrated and after purple streams of energy connected to it, the door lifted up and reattached itself to the locker again.

"Hazah!" Jared cheered.

"You did it!" Dexter said, proudly.

"Knew I could do it." Raven said, pleased with herself. "Though… something's still weird…"

"What?" Jared inquired.

"When I was putting it back together I got a weird vibe from it… almost like I was sensing my own magic…" Raven mused.

"That _is_ pretty weird…" Jared admitted.

"Hmm, I wonder if there's a _scientific_ explanation for that…?" Dexter said, as he began thinking.

"Your gonna use _science_ to understand _magic_… good luck!" Jared told him, amused.

"Yeah, I think you might be a _little_ in over your head when it comes to _that_, honey." Raven agreed.

"Well, can't hurt to try right?" Dexter pointed out. "And I think I have the perfect thing to deal with this situation."

"You do?" Raven and Jared both asked, surprised.

"Yep! One sec!" Dexter said before he zipped off and then came right back with a funny looking metal device that seemed to be some kind of scanner. "Ta-da!"

"Uh… what is _that_?" Raven inquired.

"I call it… 'the alternate-magical-vibe detector and finder'!" Dexter said, proudly.

"Lousy name… but at least we know what it does." Jared remarked, deadpan.

"Hey…" Dexter began to say, insulted.

"It's ok Dex, he was just teasing." Raven assured him. "So… can you tell us how it works?"

"Sure, see it scans for alternate magical energies belonging to people other then the name I type in, like you, then when it identifies the alternate magical energy it tells us who really did it." Dexter explained.

"Uh… I'm confused." Jared admitted.

"I think he means that he'll be able to figure out whose magic this belongs to." Raven said.

"Precisely." Dexter nodded.

"Oh, is that all?" Jared remarked a bit flatly.

"Yep. Now just stand back and let science do it's thing." Dexter advised as he pointed the scanner at the broken locker. "And… power on."

A strange sound came from the scanner, along with some beeping as it did it's job and scanned the magical energies that were still around the lockers. Jared and Raven waited and watched anxiously.

"Well?" The purple and black haired girl inquired. "Whatcha find, Dexter?"

"Not sure… but whatever this magic is it's not yours, and it's everywhere…" Dexter remarked. He held out the device to them. "Take a look."

Jared took the device and looked closely. "Incredible… there's no expenditure…"

"Meaning… _what_ exactly?" Raven asked, confused.

"I mean that it's not flowing anywhere else, it's just staying in one spot AKA the locker." Jared explained.

"That's weird…" Raven remarked, baffled. "Why just the locker?"

Jared just shrugged. "Who knows?" he remarked. "Magic is just plain weird sometimes…"

"Don't I know it…" Raven muttered under her breath, feeling somewhat ashamed.

Dexter saw this and consoled her. "Aw, come on Raven, your magic is good too, I know it, he knows it and so do you."

Raven smiled, comforted. "Thanks, Dexter."

"Oh boy… I'm leaving." Jared said a bit grossed out as he walked on ahead.

"Hey, hold up!" Raven called out before running after him. She turned to Dexter as she chased after Jared. "Dexter, come on!"

"Coming!" he said as he began to leave before noticing something very odd; a purple mist rising out from the locker and then dissipating. He adjusted his glasses and prepared to comment before he realized Jared and Raven were getting further away and decided to put it aside for now and follow them.


End file.
